Zillow: Energy efficiency a hot marketing point for Fresno homes

Energy efficiency is a strong marketing point for home sales in the Fresno area, according to an analysis by real estate website Zillow.

In fact, out of 100 U.S. cities, Fresno ranks at No. 3 in terms of percentage of home listings with energy-efficient terms such as “solar panel” or “wind power.”

About 14.2 percent of Fresno home listings include such terms, according to Zillow. San Jose was No. 1 on the list with 24.1 percent.

The analysis also looked at the average carbon footprint of homes in each city, using data provided by University of California, Berkeley’s CoolClimate Network. Fresno’s average carbon footprint came in at 40.9 metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted by a typical household each year.

San Jose’s average carbon footprint was 53.4 metric tons.

“Climate change is top-of-mind in California, and whether homeowners are reacting to environmental ethics or high energy costs, they are most likely to market energy-efficient technology when selling their homes,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. “Between density and drought, Californians have a lot of reasons to find ways to make their homes more efficient – for the sake of the environment and their pocketbooks, too.”